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From Kodak To Google, How Privacy Panics Distort Policy
Posted Oct 1, 2015 by Alan McQuinn (@AlanMcQuinn)
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[privacy.jpg?w=738]
Alan McQuinnCrunch Network Contributor
Alan McQuinn is a research assistant at the Information Technology and
Innovation Foundation, a think tank focused on the intersection of
technological innovation and public policy.
How to join the network
When a new technology comes out, people are generally good at seeing
through the hype that is associated with it. Many technological
inventions, after all, are not immediately revolutionary — despite what
clever marketers might want you to believe.
However, people are often bad about seeing through the outsized claims
from another type of clever marketer: professional privacy advocates
who routinely say new technologies spell doom to the privacy of those
who use them.
While these fears often never materialize, and the public comes to
accept the new technology as they become familiar with it, time and
time again people fall into the trap of believing exaggerated claims
about privacy risks for new technologies.
This cycle of panic-then-acceptance can slow innovation and adoption of
new technologies. To be sure, some technologies have challenged
traditional notions of privacy, or even presented new risks to
consumers, and to the extent that there are legitimate risks of
consumer harm, these concerns should be taken seriously. However, it is
important to recognize that the privacy panic cycle is a detrimental
one — with a long historical precedent.
In 1888, when George Eastman introduced the Kodak camera, the first
portable camera, amateur photographers everywhere were delighted with
the relatively inexpensive, newfound ability to capture everyday
motion, or “snapshots.” However, despite praise over the invention, the
Kodak camera also set off a privacy-charged panic. While many people
quickly adopted the technology, others became terrified that
thoughtless shutterbugs would take embarrassing pictures of them
without their permission.
People using the devices were soon labeled “Kodak fiends,” and the
technology was banned from businesses, beaches and even the Washington
Monument. In fact, one journalist described a situation in which young
men in Britain formed a “Vigilance Association” with the sole purpose
of “thrashing the cads with cameras who go about at seaside places
taking snapshots of ladies emerging from the deep.” This hysteria died
by 1910, as increasing numbers of people adopted the technology. The
bans were lifted, and social norms developed around candid photography
to act as a disincentive to rude behavior.
By creating public fears about new technology, privacy advocates
slow the adoption of beneficial new technologies.
When it comes to privacy concerns for nascent technologies, however,
history repeats itself. Indeed, other technologies would soon have
their “Kodak moment.” When first unveiled in 2012, many thought the
promise of Google Glass was extraordinary — a pair of futuristic
glasses that could augment reality or live stream your world. Both the
public and the press were fascinated by the technology. For example, it
scored a 12-page spread in VOGUE magazine, was named one of Time
magazine’s best inventions of 2012 and earned praise from a host of
other publications.
Despite the enthusiasm for its potential impact, Google Glass received
a huge privacy backlash. Many people saw its recording function as
creepy, or mistakenly believed the device was constantly recording.
Soon businesses started banning the devices from their premises. One
group, called Stop the Cyborgs, offered free anti-Google Glass signs
and art on its website for these businesses to notify customers the
technology was prohibited. People even invented a nickname for the
wearers of Google Glass, calling them “glassholes,” a phrase that
harkens back to the “Kodak fiends” of the late 1800s.
By creating public fears about new technology, privacy advocates slow
the adoption of beneficial new technologies. But that is not the only
problem with taking these fearful claims at face value. Overwrought
privacy fears can lead to ill-conceived policy responses that either
purposely hinder or fail to adequately promote useful technologies.
For example, U.S. policymakers have delayed the adoption of various
public-sector technologies, such as smart meters that monitor
electrical usage, in part because of the pushback these technologies
have received from overzealous advocates.
We will continue to see the privacy panic cycle distort the public
reception of new technologies unless we begin to recognize it.
Technologies will always have some tradeoffs, and there is no question
that we need smart policies that both mitigate concerns and optimize
societal benefits. But when privacy advocates merely scare consumers
away from innovation rather than working to create sensible solutions
for integrating useful new technologies into society, they slow the
pace of economic and social progress.
Featured Image: Dan Bruins
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* Kodak
+ Overview Kodak provides imaging solutions and services for
enterprises and consumers. It provides packaging, functional
printing, graphic communications and professional services
under its key segment, which is digital printing & enterprise
and graphics, entertainment & commercial films. Kodak is known
for photographic film products, It focused on digital
photography and digital printing after the rise …
+ Location Rochester, NY
+ Categories Service Providers, Consumers, Enterprises
+ Full profile for Kodak
* Google Glass
+ Description Google Glass is a type of wearable technology with
an optical head-mounted display.
+ Website http://www.google.com/glass/start
+ Full profile for Google Glass
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